The present disclosure relates to a load-relieving apparatus.
Support systems for supporting rehabilitation of patients who suffer from lower-limb paralysis caused by strokes or the like have been developed. Such support systems can enable, for example, patients with paralyzed lower limbs to do walking trainings. In a walking training, a walking assisting apparatus is attached to a leg of a trainee, i.e., a patient with a paralyzed lower limb. The walking assisting apparatus is attached to the paralyzed leg and assists the trainee in performing knee bending/extending motions. The trainee wearing the walking assisting apparatus walks on a treadmill provided in the support apparatus. It should be noted that the walking assisting apparatus or the leg to which the walking assisting apparatus is attached is pulled in an upper-front direction and an upper-rear direction by a load-relieving apparatus. The load-relieving apparatus supports the weight of the walking assisting apparatus and assists the trainee in moving his/her leg by paying out or pulling in wire cables from positions located above and in front of the trainee, and above and behind the trainee.
As an example of a technique related to the above-described load-relieving apparatus, a lifting/lowering apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-141517 includes a wire cable with locking means for suspending a suspended object attached to one end thereof, a winding drum for winding up this wire cable, and winding momentum-giving means for giving rotational momentum to the winding drum in a winding direction. Further, in this lifting/lowering apparatus, an insertion nut and a stopper through which the wire cable is inserted are attached to a base plate covering the winding drum, so that the locking means provided at the free end of the wire cable does not come into contact with the winding drum.